Merrymaking Merry Go Round
by CrazyStarfinder
Summary: Anya gets a surprise.


Title: Merrymaking Merry Go Round

Author: Kelly

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns these people, not me just borrowing them.

Summary: Anya gets a surprise.

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"A bit more to the left."

"Here?"

"No." A pause for thought. "Maybe you should move it to the right some more."

"How about now?"

"I don't know. It looks kinda crooked."

"Crooked!"

That was it and Xander Harris got down from the stepladder he had been using so he was at eye level with one Dawn Summers. She was currently sitting at the table in his apartment eating ice cream and making him do all the work of course. "You wanna get up there and do it yourself?" he asked making a big sweeping gesture towards the banner, which proudly proclaimed its message in big red letters with stars.

Dawn licked the ice cream of her spoon and gazed at him thoughtfully before shaking her head. "Buffy wouldn't like that, say I fell off and cracked my head open then that would be your fault for enforcing child labour upon me."

Xander was slightly taken aback by that answer, it was sarcastic and perfectly timed. "And that in Dawn speak is…?" he asked quickly.

"That's Dawnie for do it yourself mister," Willow Rosenberg said from the kitchen area of the apartment with a dazzling smile. She picked a strawberry up and gently chewed, offering one to her girlfriend. Tara took it with her teeth and smiled at Willow then realised Xander was looking at them both, she quickly dropped the strawberry into her hand and started eating it normally. A slight blush colouring her cheeks.

"Or it could be that it's a man's work," Dawn answered quickly finishing the last of the bowl and setting it down. She gave him a small smile. "After all you are kind of the man of the group."

Xander smiled, it was a smile that said "oh yes he was the man". It never hurt for a guy to have his ego stroked once in a while.

"After Giles," Willow said with a small nod. "Of course because his British and older and hey?" She raised a hand slightly. "Did I mention British?"

"Giles?" Xander asked. Dawn turned to face Willow then nodded in agreement then back to Xander.

"You could like be first officer in comparison to him." Dawn stood up and shoved her hands firmly in her pockets. "You know, your Spock to his Kirk."

"Or your Pinky to his Brain," Willow shouted up with a goofy grin. Everyone stared at her and Tara offered a small smile. Xander grimaced then stood back to admire the banner.

"I think I liked it better when I was Spock."

"Whose Spock?" Buffy Summers asked as she left herself into her best friends' apartment. Dawn only barely acknowledged her presence then carried on looking forward.

"Xander," she said dryly.

"Xander's Spock?" the Slayer asked confused still standing in the doorway.

"He was Pinky though," Tara said finally speaking up.

"So he's like what Pinky Spock?" Buffy said narrowing her eyes. Xander turned round extremely annoyed with all four of the women, okay so Tara hadn't contributed to it and Buffy had only just turned up but he was trying to do a job. A nice surprise for his girlfriend in which he would be gratefully rewarded. Oh yes, sometimes things like this had their advantages.

"Enough of the Vulcan Mouse talk." Xander clicked his fingers and pointed at the blonde haired woman. "Buffy just the person, what do you think?" he asked stepping back and pointing to the banner.

She tilted her head to one side then straightened up before repeating the movement to the left and wrinkled her nose. "It looks a little crooked." Those were not the words Xander wanted to hear and he groaned. Willow looked up from what she was doing and merely grinned.

There was a loud knock at the door and Buffy turned round to open it, she hadn't even pulled it open when Rupert Giles came running in and clearly out of breath. "Oh thank god," Giles said closing the door behind him with a loud slam. His British accent was more noticeable when he was worried or extremely panicked. At that moment, Buffy would say he looked a combination of both. "Anya is on her way up."

"What?" Xander asked looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Already?" Willow shouted glancing to Tara then frowned. "By we have balloons to put on cakes and candles to blow up. She can't be here already."

"Well the other way round anyway," Tara quickly corrected for the witch and offered a small smile.

"Good work British man," Xander said. "You were supposed to stall her."

"I tried but we had no more customers," Giles answered rattled and took off his glasses. "Then she complained that I couldn't keep her behind beyond her hours and that Willow had told her that." He paused to shoot a somewhat stern look at her; she offered an apologetic smile. "And then insisted on coming home because she wanted to do something with ice cream?"

Raised eyebrows all round followed by quick realisation dawning followed by looks down to the floor. All expect Dawn who sat up and chirped brightly. "What did she want to do?"

"Dawn," Buffy said. "Be quiet." She quickly turned to Giles. "We need to stop her."

"Too late."

"Why's that?" Xander asked.

As if on cue, loud banging commenced and Anya's voice boomed through the door. "Giles, you're blocking my way you giant oof. No," she said pausing to think of something more. "Make that a British giant off. This is my home so let me in." Giles pressed his back against the door and started pulling faces as he could feel her beatings through the hard wood. "Xander!"

Buffy looked from the door then back to Xander. "We'd better let her in or you won't have a door left," she answered putting her hands on her hips.

"And especially if you don't want to loose that cleaning deposit," Willow added. Xander knew his friends had a point and looked up at the banner and the food that Willow and Tara had been trying to prepare. He wanted it all to be perfect, to do something good for Anya and now that was all going to waste. Finally his eyes rested on the watcher who was now suffering at the hands of Anya's constant pounding.

"Okay," Xander said with a slight air of defeat, the same one he had used back in high school to avoid getting beaten up by all the punks. That was of course before he had met Buffy Summers and even then he didn't want to be saved by her. "Giles."

"Oh Lord," he said quickly moving away from the door. "About bloody time. I do enjoy my bones intact you know." Giles made his way over to Dawn while allowing Buffy to open the door.

"I know you're in there so just…" Anya stopped as soon as the door was opened by Buffy, she stared at the young slayer for a moment. "Well it's about frickin time." Then something dawned on her, if she was here and Giles was here then the others were bound to be here. Anya slowly looked round the room until her eyes eventually rested on her man then her gaze drifted upwards to the large banner that had been hung crookedly.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANYA 

For the briefest of moments, the former vengeance demon looked like she was going to say something extremely appropriate and Xander smiled. "Happy Birthday Anya," he said with a bright smile. "It's not much but it's the best I can do…"

"If you say "my gift is my song and this one's for you"." Buffy paused. "I will beat you." Xander realised how dorky that had come out and walked over to his girl and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I just thought you deserved something nice."

Anya took another look at the banner, round the room to the rest of the scoobies then finally back to Xander. She was a volcano ready to erupt and she pursed her lips together tightly before coming out with her response. "Gifts are nice, flowers are nice," she retorted loudly. "Expensive diamonds are nice. Crappy banners that are hung crookedly are not."

"Anya."

"How could you do this to me?" she demanded. "What are you trying to do? Make me feel bad?"

"Of course not I'm celebrating your birthday." Xander tried to put his hands on her shoulders but she just shrugged them off, she was still angry.

"How can you celebrate me being another year older do you know what that means?" Anya yelled.

"You're nearly old enough to drink?" Willow piped up then immediately backed down once Anya glared in her direction then to anyone else just daring them to speak.

Anya finally looked to Xander. "No it means that I am another year closer to growing old and dying and you want to celebrate that!" Xander moved to hold her once more, let her know that there was many years left for that and that he'd love her no matter how she looked or how old she was.

"Anya that's not…"

"No!" Anya shrugged off his arms and stormed over to the bedroom. "You can sleep on the couch tonight." She slammed the door behind her and after a few seconds opened it. "Unless I feel in the mood for…"

"Please don't…" Buffy answered.

"I beg of you please," Giles added quietly. What he didn't need right now was Anya talking about her and Xander's romantic antics.

"Smushing," Anya finished then slammed the door once more.

The whole room was silent and all eyes fell on Xander. Things hadn't exactly gone the way he had planned and now his girlfriend had embarrassed him in front of his friends AND his work had been called crooked. Xander glanced back to the banner and looked at it with great detail, it was no crooked. He was a carpenter; he knew what he was doing when it came to matters like this.

"So," Xander said with a small chuckle, desperately seeking to avoid any more attention. "Who's for cake?"

THE END


End file.
